As a child, my favorite night of Hanukah was always “calendar night” where my brothers and I would receive a calendar specifically themed to our own interests. Though it wasn’t always the third or fourth night, you knew it was coming by the very flat, very rectangular pile of wrapped gifts next to the menorahs. My calendars would be Garfield & Friends or Spice Girls, whereas my brothers would get Far Side or Edward Gorey. These days, my favorite Hanukah gift is socks (like really good, woolly, colorful socks), though I’m still a sucker for a good calendar. I’m now aware that finding 8 nights worth of presents (or one big Christmas-morning pile) can be daunting, so Pleasant Pops is happy to help out with a few ideas.

If you’re heading out of DC for the holidays (as most of this city tends to do), it’s a lovely idea to bring some locally produced goods. Our top gift recommendations include Gordy’s Bloody Mary Mix (DC, $10.00), Banner Bee Honey Jars (Gaithersburg, Maryland, $9.50), Ceremony’s Holiday Twenty Fourteen coffee beans (Annapolis, Maryland, $14.75) and Kinderhook’s 12-pack of cookies (Baltimore, Maryland, $11.50) in amazing flavors like Chocolate Chile, Salted Chocolate Chip and Triple Ginger. For stocking stuffers, we’ve got you covered. Firstly, you can’t get any cuter than the mini Honey Bears from Banner Bee ($3.00). Other ideas include the mini Chocotenango chocolate bars ($2.50), Fruitcycle’s small bag of Apple Chips ($2.50), 2 Armadillos’ crispy chickpeas ($2.00), and of course a Pleasant Pops sticker ($1.00). Finally, the perfect stocking stuffer for a DC resident is an adorable little baggie of our Pleasant Pops gift coins, sold in increments of $5.00.

Before you head out of town, you’ll likely be attending several parties, with friends, coworkers and some form of a gift exchange. For these moments, I’ll recommend our specially curated Holiday Gift Bundles, which come in three varieties and are already wrapped for gifting. The “Stir-It-Up-Some” ($26) includes a 2-pack of Milk Chocolate Hot Pops, a Pleasant Pops mug and Ceremony’s Holiday Twenty Fourteen coffee. The “Savory, Spice and Everything Nice” ($20) includes a jar of Tin Mustard, Uncle Brutha’s No. 9 Hot Sauce and ‘Chups Fruit Ketchup sampler pack. The “Sweet Treats” ($18) bundle contains both a jar of honey and a honey bear from Banner Bee, some Harney & Sons tea and Coconut Macaroons from Kinderhook. These bundles are lovely, and send the message “I know you pretty well and wanted to give you something more special than a gift card but less personal than a silky bath robe”.